I am just getting started in the wonderful world of PHP. Normally I put together all of my websites using Notepad and save it as an .html file on my desktop to open it and view it before uploading it to the server. I wrote my first PHP and just as I had expected upon opening it I would find that any of the PHP commands didn't work unless I opened it on the PHP enabled server.Does a PHP compiler or PHP server emulator exist for Windows 98? If so, where's the best place to find one? I am not interested in a PHP editor.I am still new at this so chances are I am not using the correct terminology. I am sure this has probably been discussed on the forum before but I couldn't find any threads relating to it. If you could link me to such a thread I would appreciate it greatly.

php has to be shown by a server and cannot be shown like html-files from your desktop.
You can install a webserver on your computer wich has php and use that to test your scripts.
You can also use a good editor wich knows php and can check your code for errors and (I believe some editors can) show the file itself.

I personnaly use a normal editor with only syntax highlighting (UltraEdit)
and test my scripts on my webserver.